Hunter
by Alien Predator
Summary: It's been a month after the events of Zootopia. Judy Hopps is a good cop, a very good cop. During her line of work, she begins to find clues of an alien Predator stalking the streets of Zootopia. It turns out not all worlds followed the footsteps of Judy's. Some Predators still hunt their prey.
1. Prologue: The Predator

**Hunter**

 **Prologue: The Predator**

The darkness enveloped the little dots of light that were the stars.

It was a cold and empty place, soundless and lifeless.

One of the lights was getting closer, until it got close enough to stand out from the other dots of light.

It was a metallic object, ornamental in design and hiding within itself an advanced and sophisticated machinery.

The pilot, an alien of a humanoid stature with feline features sat on his chair adorned with bones and skulls. It grinned a menacing smile, its saber-teeth were thirty centimeters long.

The saber-toothed cat looked at the window in front of it, its green predatory eyes glared at the blue backwater planet.

He heard tales from other clans about the creatures that dwell on this planet. How there is a civilization comprised of two kinds of animals. Natural enemies that put aside their differences to work together.

Predator and Prey.

But he was an apex predator and to him, everything in that world is prey.

The spacecraft got closer towards the planet, and as soon as it curved away, a pod shot downwards and further from the ship, burning as it skid across the atmosphere and into the lush and rich hunting grounds below.


	2. Chapter 1: Nick Wilde

**Chapter 1: Nick Wilde**

It's only been a month since Nicholas P. Wilde had joined the force and already he was loving it. Finally he had a proper job, something he could look back on and feel like his mother would be proud.

He never had much contact with her ever since his life took a turn towards scamming others. Nick was too guilty to look his mother in the face and admit that this was the sweet woman who had brought such scum into this world.

But now, with a smile, Nick would proudly look her in the eye and thank her for bringing him life.

Nick looked out the window of the police cruiser. Animals were walking up and down the street, all minding their own business.

But something stood out. A group of polecats were barely visible through the tinted window of a pub at the corner. It wasn't the fact that Nick saw them, it's their scent that gave them away. Nick Wilde's keen sense of smell allowed him to detect things that Judy's hearing missed.

"Hey Carrots, I've got some serious police work to do. You wait here," Nick said as he looked to the driver's seat to see Judy eating a mouthful of carrots.

"Like what?" Judy Hopps said, with a hand over her mouth to prevent bits of food from flying out. She was quite a neat person when she had to be.

"Oh, nothing much, just noticed an old friend," Nick sheepishly grinned.

"One of your scammer buddies?" Judy asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, none of that... just someone who Finnick knew."

"Right, so it is one of your scammer buddies."

"Whatever ya say, sweetcheeks, see you in a bit."

When Nick got out and started walking towards the pub. Judy sat there staring. "How many nicknames are you gonna come up with?" She sighed, she wished she was as snarky and creative as Nick was when it came to words.

* * *

The door swung open and Nick walked in. His keen nose pointed him at the group of polecats he saw earlier. He walked towards them.

He recognized one of them, Joseph Ferreto which kind of narrowed down who his buddies worked for.

A ferret mafia boss who goes by the name of Don Thomas Piano. He got the Piano moniker from his musical skills. Nick and Finnick often saw Don Tom Piano play the tunes, something Nick actually liked hearing without admitting it out loud.

Nobody actually knew Don Piano's real name. As far as the law was concerned, that's the legal name he goes by.

"Everything alright, fellas?" Nick asked as he approached the polecats and ferrets.

"Whose askin'? Oh SHIT! Nick!" Ferreto said as he stood up with a wide grin on his face.

"The one and only!" Nick said as he shook hands with Ferreto. Nick and Finnick did go way back with this guy, and frankly, Ferreto was a decent guy for a crook.

"Nice uniform Nick. Finnick told me you got busted by the cops, but he didn't say nothin' about you actually becoming a cop. how'd you do it, Nicky? Whose ass did you kiss?"

"Now that'd be telling... besides, you'd love to hear the details won't you, Ferreto?"

The other polecats snickered among themselves.

"Hey, this the same guy who sold Big Boss that skunk fur butt?" one of the weasels asked.

"Yep!"

They all burst out laughing. Nick knew that Don Piano's organization were rivals with Big Boss. So this is why he came to see them, because Nick grew concerned about their presence in Big Boss' territory.

"What's going on?" Judy asked as she approached, almost startling Nick.

The mustelids all looked at her like she was a rock that just spoke.

"Oh, just checking on some old pals, that's all."

"Oh really?"

"Heh, yep," Nick said with an involuntery grin as he began to tug Judy away from the group. "Nice seein' ya boys. Don't cause no trouble ok?"

"Sure thing Nicky," Ferreto said with a sharp toothy grin.

* * *

"Seriously Nick, who were those guys?"

"They were Don Piano's boys. I was checking on them because they're on Big Boss' turf. That isn't one of Big Boss' pubs though, but still kinda worrying. The last thing we need is a turf war."

"I see, that one ferret was awful friendly with you... called you 'Nicky'," Judy giggled inwardly. Finally a nickname for her friend.

"Yeah, Finnick introduced me to Ferreto who eventually introduced us both to Piano."

"Gosh, you really do know everyone, Nick."

"I told ya, Carrots."

"Whatever you say, Nicky."

Nick looked at her, Judy just smiled as she made her way towards the cruiser.

"Don't you start!" Nick grumbled under his tone.


	3. Chapter 2: Chad Howler

**Chapter 2: Chad Howler**

In the cool air conditioned office within the Zootopia Police Department sat a coyote. A cold coffee mug rested idly near him, he had forgotten all about it as he was too busy ruffling through files.

His ears perked in response to a scratching noise on the door.

"Chad, Chief Bogo wants to see you," Benjamin Clawhauser said as his head poked into the room from the corner of the doorway.

"I'll be there," Chad said and he wasted no time either. He walked out of the office, walked down the hall without paying heed to anyone around him.

"Howler, have a seat," Bogo said and Chad sat down in front of him.

Chief Bogo glared at Chad. Behind his big ungulate eyes was a sense of respect. Chad was the type of reckless bastard who would take any lengh needed to get the job done.

Chad felt a similar sense of respect for Bogo. There was something in the large cape buffalo that appealed to Chad. He had a no nonsense 'don't know, don't care' way of thinking and it meant he didn't dig deep into Chad's life unless it was work related.

Bogo was the only one who essentially kept Chad in check and on a tight leash.

"We have a lead on the Tusk Gang's smuggling operations. A witness has reported two suspicious looking elephants exchanging something," Bogo said as he handed Chad a file with the location of the sightings. It was a small apartment complex in Sahara Square. A location Chad knew quite well.

"I'll get right on it," he said and Bogo nodded as Chad stood up to walk away.

"Watch yourself, Chad. You're a good cop but you're unpredictable. I busted my ass to keep you on the precinct as you're the only one who made the most progress with the Tusk case."

Chad silently nodded and then left the room.


	4. Chapter 3: Judy Hopps

**Chapter 3: Judy Hopps**

"Shots fired at Crooked Hoof Apartments in Sahara Square. All nearby units respond immediately!"

Judy Hopps slammed down and the car engine roared, the tires screeched and the buildings flew by as the vehicle propelled forward.

"Uh, Judy? We don't really class as 'nearby units' right?" Nick said as the g-force pressed him hard against the soft passenger seat of the police car.

"We're a team Nick. We may not be the nearest unit, but we are close enough."

The car elegantly races across the streets thanks to Judy's skillful driving and quick reflexes. The blaring sirens commanded all vehicular obstacles on the road to part ways immediately.

* * *

The police were pinned down by the elephant gangsters raining bullets on them. The two giant thugs had entrenched themselves behind the walls of the entrance to the apartments. Their vests were already riddled with bullets.

The rhino police officer took aim and fired as soon as he saw one of the thugs peek out, but his shot missed. He quickly ducked behind his police cruiser as the other elephant stood out and fired a burst of machine gun fire, spraying the entire area and causing one police car to explode, sending some of the cops flying into the air.

"Goddammit, we need an ambulance here," the rhino yelled. Two sirens caught his attention. One came from a police cruiser while another came from a car which no doubt was an undercover vehicle. He immediately recognized the people that exited them both.

Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps and Chad Howler dashed towards the rhino, expertly dodging between covers until they all reached him.

Judy was about to say something but the coyote spoke first before a word could leave her mouth. "What's going on?" Chad Howler asked. Judy heard a lot about the guy.

"We responded to a call. One of the residents said she heard loud banging noises in the corridors outside her flat followed by screaming and then shooting."

"Well that's new, the Tusk Gang were always discreet," Chad said. He would know, he's been on the case for months. There was a pause, Chad took a quick glance at Judy and Nick before he returned his gaze towards the rhino.

"Listen, Chief Bogo sent me here because he said he had a lead."

"Orders have changed, Chad. The Chief has ordered us to hold the ground until the Feds arrive," the rhino said. Another car exploded followed by more screams.

"Listen, I can't fucking stand here while our team gets roasted. Cover me, I'm going in."

"No, Chad, wait! Goddammit, you two, go with him!"

Judy and Nick raced after Chad, all three taking cover at a corner of an armoured police van which arrived and was pouring SWAT members, who darted across the street and took cover, showering the area where the elephants were with bullets. The elephants returned them in kind.

"Alright kids, listen up," Chad said to the rabbit and fox as he took another glance.

Nick glared at Chad, "I don't know what you're thinkin' pal, but orders are-"

"Fuck the orders, I got a plan and you're either coming or not. I'm going in," and with that, Chad darted across as soon as he saw the elephants being distracted by the SWAT.

Nick and Judy raced after the coyote. All three had guns ready. Chad got down on one knee and with practiced precision, took a shot at the elephant. His gun was a specialized sidearm designed to take down elephants. He needed it for the type of case he was working on.

Nick and Judy got down on the same position and fired pot shots at the other elephant who was getting ready to shoot at them.

Chad appreciated their distraction for he rewarded them by firing at the second thug. Both elephants were down and ready to be arrested. They would need some medical attention. Chad didn't really give a damn if they lived or not, he had a job to do.

The three raced into the building. Cutting through the empty corridors, reaching corners and aiming their guns at every concievable direction they could think of.

The coasts were surprisingly clear and it wasn't too difficult to reach the top of the apartment. Judy looked at Chad, she knew he was a reckless and unpredictable ticking time bomb, the whole precinct knew that. She never imagined her and Nick would ever need to work with this guy.

Chad reached a door, he looked at Nick and Judy. "You ready?" he asked them. The pair nodded and Chad kicked down the door. A scent of blood flooded their nostrils and what lay ahead was carnage.

Judy covered her mouth in shock. Nick just stared, discombobulated by what he saw. Chad was more collected, but he too looked like he'd been hit hard.

Six elephants were hanging from the ceiling. They had no skin and their musculature shone red as blood dripped down towards the floor. Their tusks were missing, what remained were smooth stubs. Something very sharp cleaved the elephants' tusks off.

"No..." Chad whispered. The other two were speechless.

* * *

Chief Bogo looked pissed. He always looked pissed. But when he was pissed, you could tell by the way he sounded.

And Chad was all too familiar with that sound. It rang in his ears as Bogo yelled at the coyote.

"I TOLD you to stay PUT!"

"Actually, you told me to go and investigate the lead."

"Well, Howler, in case you haven't realized. The orders have changed."

"And in case YOU haven't realized, cops were dying left and right. What was I gonna do? Sit there while they roast our asses?"

Chief Bogo sighed. He disliked insurbodination with such vindictiveness. But Chad actually always had a good excuse for it. Bogo had yet to find an example where Chad's disobedience wasn't worth it.


	5. Chapter 4: The Predator

**Chapter 4: The Predator**

Invisible and perched silently atop the apartment complex. The alien Predator eyed the cops below. His cat ears perked up to listen carefully. His metal mask shielded his feline face and small headphones went into his ears to amplify the sounds of his hunting grounds.

He looked at the large horned beast shouting at the small animal. Their heat stood out in his infrared visor. He shifted to another animal, a strange small creature with horns coming out of its head.

His short tail wagged left and right in the scorching heat wave that hit Zootropolis. His visor was scanning the small horned creature, he'd never seen that thing before. He switched from infrared to x-ray and the horns disappeared. He purred with surprise and scanned.

The mask diagnosed those organs as ears, really, really long ears. The Predator was thrilled. This small prey animal no doubt evaded hunters by relying on hearing. But he found no immediate dangers, it was a small and pathetic looking thing. Nothing like the large long nosed and tusked beasts he had slain in this structure.

He saw another similar long nosed, tusked creature. This one seemed to be working with the "po-leese" as this clan had come to be known. He had no idea what it meant. He'd heard the word be yelled, some obscure prey screamed "kall de po-leese" when one of those giant beasts fired shots at him as soon as he ambushed them.

Then when this clan arrived, they used devices to amplify their voices and shout somethings in their guttural languages. But he understood when they said "po-leese".

The saber-toothed cat tapped a button on his left wrist gauntlet, his computer began to analyse the word. He hoped that he could analyse what the other clans of his kind have learned.

His visor beeped and the term was translated. "Po-leese" apparently meant 'Arbitrator' to these prey animals. The Predator's race had Arbitrators who would hunt down poachers and crazed killers who disregarded the sacred rules of the Hunt.

And now he got the attention of the prey Arbitrators. This excited him so much. He could not wait to experience the thrill, to bring back the skulls and pelts of these Arbitrators and tell the tales to his clan brothers and sisters back home. His mask was already recording the hunt and transmitting it back to the homeworld, so others of his kind can watch it.


	6. Chapter 5: Chad Howler

**Chapter 5: Chad Howler**

The keys entered the keyhole and twisted. Chad opened the door to his apartment and closed it as calmly as he could muster. He did not want anyone getting suspicious. Chad was not one to get twitchy all of a sudden.

But now, he was really twitchy. Within him was a rage which had been cultivated over the past ten years. It was not a burning kind of impulsive rage, but a cold and controlled one, as dark as outer space.

He went to his bedroom, opened the picture of his wife and daughter and behind it was a safe that housed what he was looking for. He pushed in the digits and opened it. In his hands was one file, a file he had risked life and limb for, a piece of information he lost a fortune for.

He sat on his desk and opened the file. There were some reports and grisly photos, but he searched for one and found it in no time. A group of lions, all strung upside down with no pelts. Their dead faces permanently bared fangs at him.

"The sons of bitches are back..." Chad whispered sharply to nobody in particular. Then realized the irony of saying the word 'bitch', but honestly he couldn't give a rat's ass. He had hoped this would never happen, after a decade of silence. But a stubborn part of him hoped they'd be back. Hoped for payback.

"Hey, Chad," a tigress greeted him. She always knew when Chad got home no matter how sneaky the old coyote was. That's why he loved working alongside her on cases.

"Hey, Tani... how is it you always bust me?" Chad asked without realizing that a huge grin formed on his face. Tani Redfur was one of the few people to make him smile. Chad had a theory that Tani would make the saltiest bastard on the planet smile.

"Let's just say that you are really noisy," she said with a smile as she walked closer. Her smile melted away into a frown. "You looking at that file again? Chad, you promised."

"I know, I know..." Chad paused then sighed. "Tani, I'm gonna need your help. They're back, those things... those Predators from another world."

"Oh, Chad..." Tani sighed. She was the only one who Chad trusted enough to tell her, tell her about ten years ago. No one apart from the highest ranking members of the government knew. Chad doubted if the president himself even had a clue or was ignorant like most of the world.

Tani opened her mouth again, but her jaw faltered as if she was unsure on what to say. "Chad, just... just let the Feds handle it."

"Tani, you know this stuff is important to me. I'm not gonna put your ass on the line. Just dig up what you can and let me handle the rest."

"No Chad, we're in this together. I'm not letting you go after the Predators on your own."

Chad smiled. He wasn't sure if that was a happy smile, or a nervous one. He always saw Tani as the best police detective on the force and his best friend. But she didn't know the Predators as well as he did.


	7. Chapter 6: Chief Bogo

**Chapter 6: Chief Bogo**

Mayor Leodore Lionheart sat on his chair. His suit made him look as professional as ever. Chief Bogo had a sense of annoyance every time he thought of Lionheart. He didn't like the aura of dishonesty in the Mayor even when he meant well.

The Mayor took another glance at Judy, Nick and Chad's reports of the events before he gazed back towards the cape buffalo. "Listen to me, Bogo, whatever happened back there. I want you to drop it. The Feds will handle it from here."

Bogo furrowed his brow. He was convinced about one thing, that this was a big cover-up. Only this wasn't Lionheart's coverup like it was with the Night Howlers incident. This cover up was something big. Someone big and powerful was telling the Mayor to keep his mouth shut.

"Just what is going on out there, Mayor?" Bogo asked cordially, a false pretence of courtesy he played along with whenever he had to be forced to speak with the Mayor.

"As far as you're concerned, Chief Bogo... a crazed serial killer. Now that's all. Drop the case and let the professionals deal with it."

Bogo snorted and then nodded in understanding.

* * *

Police officers and detectives all sat in their chairs. Some smaller ones in the back seats had to stand. Bogo noticed that Judy Hopps' fame inspired more rabbits to join the police force. Even rats, mice and hamsters joined. He hated it at first, but even Bogo grew to admire their ability to infiltrate places no other cops could get into.

And no one could bug a crook's phone as well as a mouse could. Ever since new recruits arrived from Bunnyburrow and Little Rodentia, crime rates were dropping like crap from angry crows.

To Bogo's left and right were various predator and prey agents who outranked him. They were the Feds, sent directly by the government. Bogo secretly doubted they were even Feds, he figured that they were above the president but truthfully couldn't care to give it more thought.

"Alright, listen up. We're all dropping the case at Crooked Hoof Apartments."

The crowd began to mutter among themselves.

"Shut up! These boys will take over. You will lend them your full collaboration. That is all, dismissed."

* * *

Bogo entered his office and slammed the door shut. As soon as it slammed, he heard a click and the door opened faster than a horse could kick.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me, Bogo," Chad Howler barged in and slammed the door shut.

"Listen, Howler. It's not my call, ok? This is straight from the Mayor himself."

Chad stared at Bogo, a challenger's territorial stare. Bogo rolled his eyes. As much of a ticking time bomb this coyote was, Bogo was not afraid of him, or so he liked to tell himself.

"Just what are they hiding, Bogo?"

"Hey, go and ask Lionheart," Bogo retorted.

"It's a fucking cover-up isn't it? Fucking obvious," Chad growled.

"And YOU, my impulsive friend, are gonna keep your long nose out of this federal business. Understand?" Bogo said as he pointed at Chad, his hoof tapping on the coyote's chest.

"Hey, you got me on this assignment and now I intend to finish it."

"Then consider it FINISHED!"


	8. Chapter 7: The Predator

**Chapter 7: The Predator**

The alien cat stalked in the darkness. Watching a group of large felines, but without the large canine teeth that he had. The large cats approached some small long animals.

"Don Piano extends his hospitality," one of the small creatures said to the cat leader. The large feline, who had a huge mane of fur around his neck and a small tuft at the end of his tail let out a growling chuckle.

"Yes, it is great doing business with you ferrets. Collin? Show these nice weasels the moolah."

Collin, a cheetah opened his briefcase and in it were millions in hard cash.

The Predator watched as the small beasts exchanged their guns for the thin materials in a large box. He changed his vision and scanned their skulls. They all had the teeth of a predatory carnivore. They would make excellent prey.

He reached for his left forearm and tapped a button on his gauntlet. His vision returned back to thermal. All of these beasts were warm blooded mammals. A triangular reticule covered the large maned cat he was staring at from his hiding spot.

"Uh, boss? There's some red stuff on your mane, like some triangle dots," a leopard said.

The ferret saw three lasers pointed at the back of the lion's head. Before he could yell something, a flash of blue lit up and a projectile hit the lion's head, going through and onto the small weasel in front of the lion.

The gangsters all scattered around. The Predator fired more shots, taking out a leopard and a tiger. The weasels found cover and returned fire at the general location of the Predator.

The saber-toothed cat leapt to the nearest rooftop, his cloaking field kept him invisible to the prey down below. Their gunshots sang songs of death as they rippled at the rooftops of his former ambush spot.

The Predator made his way towards the weasels' location and observed them from behind. They finally found the courage to stop shooting.

"I-Is it d-dead?" one of them stammered. The Predator switched his vision mode and scanned their brainwave patterns. All of them were very afraid. This excited the alien feline and he roared and leapt from his position down towards the tiny creatures.

* * *

Vlad ran with the two remaining survivors of his posse. He couldn't believe it. Someone had taken out the boss. And the weasels' screaming didn't help his fear at all, in fact it amplified it. But what made it worse was a strange otherworldly roar he heard, a predatory cat like sound.

Soon, the ferrets' screams died out and there was nothing.

"Vlad? You're the second boss, what now?"

Vlad was about to respond but instead found himself falling down and hitting the floor hard. Then he saw his body fall before him, headless.

The few remaining seconds of his life allowed him to witness the swift slaughter of the last two cats by an invisible demon.

The Predator turned and resumed pursuing the small ferret he had released. He wanted to chase this one down. The hunter tapped a button on his wrist computer and uncloaked. His yellow fur was well groomed and looked clean in the moonlit night.

Something ran and he swung his head in the direction of his small prey, the swift motion of his head made the furry fleshy quill like appendages on the back of his head swing violently to one side.

He roared and chased the tiny creature towards an alleyway. The little long thing fit its head inside a hole on the wall. The Predator watched as the rest of its body followed suit.

With a growl, the Predator kicked at the wall with his powerful legs and the bricked wall gave way to the otherworldly strength that commanded it to part. He stepped inside and saw the quivering little weasel curled up in the corner.

 **"Great doing business with you ferrets,"** the Predator mimicked one of the large felines he had heard talking earlier.

"You bastards! You fucking cat bastards!" the tiny creature yelled at him.

" **Fucking cat bastards** ," the Predator repeated in the ferret's voice as he reached for the tubes connecting his mask to his armour and removed them with a click followed by a hiss of depressurization.

The ferret watched as the creature removed its mask, revealing its cat like face. He imagined something like a lion or a tiger, but with giant canine teeth. Like those things from the ice age.

The Predator bared his teeth, the beast's face exuded aggression and the ferret was just about ready to shit himself. And shit himself he did when a powerful smack slammed into the side of his face from the Predator's open padded hand.

The ferret was still standing. The Predator only lightly smacked him, hoping it would irritate the prey and encourage it to fight back. When it refused, he hit it again, hoping once more to provoke it. This time the small prey fell down and was quivering.

"Please don't hurt me," it whimpered. Tears began to streak down the weasel's face.

The Predator growled deep under his voice in disappointment. He faced blobs of protein that were tougher and had more spine than this thing. He put his mask back on and turned away, disappearing into the shadows and leaving the ferret to his own fate.


	9. Chapter 8: Judy Hopps

**Chapter 8: Judy Hopps**

"The bodies of members belonging to the Whispering Claw syndicate and the polecats who work for the alleged ferret organized crime boss, Don Thomas Piano, have been found hanging upside down on billboards across the city of Zootropolis. All of them have had their pelts removed..."

Judy Hopps switched off the television. She recalled the meeting Chief Bogo held yesterday. It wasn't long before this madness happened, and it happened literally over night.

What kind of predator, no, that can't be right. Judy shook her head. To call this deranged maniac a "predator" would be insulting the productive members of society who just so happened to be predatory animals.

No, this was a monster. A nightmare. There had to be a word to describe this fiend. But Judy had other thoughts plaguing her mind. Why did Bogo cut them off from the case? What was he hiding? Just who were those guys in suits at the meeting?

She was going to find out. And so she dialled the numbers on her phone.

"Hello?" Nick answered.

"Nick, did you see the news?"

"Sorry, Carrots, today's my day off."

"Well, get your ass over here quick. Remember that incident in Sahara Square?"

"Which one?"

Judy rolled her eyes, "you know the one ya dumb fox, the one at Crooked Hoof Apartments. With all them elephants."

"Oh... yeah, what about it?"

"Well, another killing spree happened. This time it was predators instead of prey who were the victims."

"Damn... Judy, this is big."

"I know, that's why I need you, Nick. We gotta find out just what the hell is going on. Some of the victims were ferrets and polecats. That reminded me of your pals back at the pub a couple of days ago."

"Don Piano's boys? Judy, meet me in Downtown at fifteen hundred."

"Nick?" Judy asked but Nick had already hung up.


	10. Chapter 9: Nick Wilde

**Chapter 9: Nick Wilde**

Nick didn't have to wait long. Puncuality was Judy Hopps' middle name. They sat in a limo that was deliberately brought to accommodate them.

Inside the limo was a ferret wearing a suit that would cost Nick his whole apartment to buy.

"Don Piano, thanks for meeting with us at this urgent matter," Judy said with a smile. "I'm officer-"

"Judy Hopps, I know all about you, Miss Hopps. And frankly, I'm glad you came along with Nick," the ferret smiled.

"Yeah, we heard on the news and we're wondering if you could help us out," Nick said.

"Hmm... I was hoping you two could help me out. I have lots of enemies. But no one so savage. Who hired this assassin to whack both, my boys and those Whispering Claws? I doubt even Big Boss would stoop so low. He iced a couple of my boys and I introduced a couple of his to their new fish neighbours. But nothing like this..."

Judy wished she had her carrot pen with the recorder. She'd so record Don Piano's confession right then and there. But the crime lord wasn't kidding when he said that he knew all about her. The weasels are very good when it comes to searching pockets as well. Nick had assured her that Don Piano was a ferret of his word, and that she'd get her carrot pen back.

"Do you suspect anyone?" Judy asked.

"Hmm... not that I can think of any. One of my boys survived. I'm afraid he's in police custody after what happened last night."

Judy looked at Nick. Nick knew that expression, it was a 'let's go get this sick fuck' expression.

"Thanks for your help, Don Piano. If you don't mind, we'll go and talk to the survivor."

"Of course, my friend. Oh, Fido, give them back their stuff. If you need anything, call me anytime, Nick."

Nick and Judy exchanged goodbyes with the crime boss and evacuated the car as soon as they got their things back.

"We won't be using your former buddies for help," Judy said.

"But Carrots, you never know when they might come in handy."

"Nick, they're the mob. They're crooks and we're cops. We don't mix."

Nick sighed and followed Judy towards their cruiser.

* * *

Nick and Judy entered the precinct and walked at a fast pace, they said a quick 'hi' to Clawhauser and headed towards the interrogation room.

When they reached it. The TV screen was off. It was the screen that detectives could view a suspect be interrogated via CCTV live feeds with sound. It was all turned off.

Judy motioned for Nick to follow her and they reached a door where voices came from within. Judy pressed her ear against the door.


	11. Chapter 10: Tani Redfur

**Chapter 10: Tani Redfur**

Detective Tani Redfur sat across the table. Before her was a small ferret, probably not even an adult. He went by the street name of "Sneaky Joey".

"So, let me get this straight. Some kind of ghost or demon shot magic at the Whispering Claw gang and your pals? And then it roared and ambushed your group as you fired shots at it from a hiding spot. Is that correct?"

"Yeah... and after it killed everyone on my team, it then killed the Whispering Claws and came back for me. For some reason, it didn't kill me, it just hit me a couple of times and then left me alone."

Tani nodded, she revised her notes. Everything was as the ferret had described. Tani remembered the talks she had with Chad about the Predators. About what happened to Chad a decade ago.

The Predators preferred to hunt challenging prey. This ferret couldn't even challenge a snail. No thrill, no sport. But there were some encounters where the thrill was so exciting that the Predators would go on a sadistic killing spree which made everything fair game for them.

Tani knew the next answer, but she asked anyway. "What did it look like?"

"Uhm... kind of like a big tiger, it had yellow fur like lions. Some weird spindly spines coming out the back of its head and uhh... big teeth, like them cats from the ice age kind of teeth."

Tani was always intrigued by this small bit of information. Could the Predators be related to the fabled saber-toothed cats that died out millenia ago? Could those have been them before they left this world? Or maybe when they discovered this world? It's hard to come to these conclusions as barely any records survived from the old ages before hunter and hunted decided to work together and form what is now modern day civilization.

Tani sighed. Not all worlds were as fortunate as hers. She wondered sometimes. On some other worlds out there in the uncaring darkness, predatory animals may be the dominant ones.

The door slammed open and Chief Bogo walked in, bringing Tani back into the real world from her inner musings.

"Redfur, the Feds will handle it from here," Bogo said. Tani was not the argumentative one, unlike Chad. She nodded in understanding and silently walked out. Once she had stepped out, several agents walked inside and then Bogo walked out and closed the door.

She watched him go down the corridor. He didn't seem pissed or anything that she had carried on the case. Her ears perked as she heard a sound, soon her eyes found the source. A pair consisting of a rabbit and a fox stood in front of her.

"Saber-toothed tigers, huh?" Nick said with a smug look.

"You eavesdropped, and they're not tigers..." Tani accused and corrected Nick.

"Hey, it's called a hustle baby."

"Don't call me baby..." she said in a low growling tone.

"Jeeze, you must be fun at parties," Nick rolled his eyes.

"Alright ladies, you're both pretty," Judy said, shutting them both up.

Tani looked at the small rabbit and smiled. Her mind was too preoccupied with thoughts on the Predators, so much so, that she had failed to recognize Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.

"I am so sorry, Nick and Judy, I didn't realise who you both were. I'm Detective Tani Redfur," she extended her paw to shake theirs.

"Oh, I heard about you. You're the one who busted Scarface weren't you? I hear the ZPD tried to get him for twenty years!"

"Oh, I got lucky! That wolf evaded me for so long. But sometimes, luck just decides to smile on you randomly, you know what I'm saying? Listen, since you guys eavesdropped and know what's going on. Why don't you come with me? I got a friend who would like to meet you."

The trio walked across the corridor as the tigress tapped some numbers on her smartphone and began to call Chad.


	12. Chapter 11: Chad Howler

**Chapter 11: Chad Howler**

Nick and Judy sat on the opposite end of the table. Facing them were Chad and Tani. On the table was a file that Chad had placed. It had a big bold capital " **PREDATOR** " written on it. Chad wouldn't have trusted them with this if he hadn't worked with them on that Tusk Gang case where they helped him bust through the elephant guards. Plus Nick and Judy had a reputation. They stopped Dawn Bellweather from screwing things up big time for predatory animals like Chad, Tani and Nick himself. So this was the least that Chad could do for them.

"For millennia, this world has been an ancestral hunting ground of monsters from another world. Heat and conflict drives them. It's no surprise that the Predator has first struck in Sahara Square. Wherever they come from must be a real scorching hellhole," Chad said. There was a hint of poison in his voice.

"Why are they called 'Predators'? Aren't we discriminated against bad enough as it is?" Nick asked with displeasure.

"Because it's what they are, Nick, we have no other name for them" Chad responded matter of factly.

"Oh, I got one. How about 'Buck-Toothed Chumps' huh? That's for giving other predators a bad name. They should just stop living in the past and move on with the times already."

"You're projecting yourself onto them, Nick," Tani said.

"That's right. As much as I hate them. Truth be told, it's nothing personal as far as they're concerned. No hate, no vendetta, no remorse, no regret... just the thrill, the hunt, the prey. We don't know how they think or where they come from," Chad said.

"Huh? I thought they were from here..."

"Uh, Nick? Did you pay attention to the file? They're aliens," Judy said.

"Oh, damn. Must've skipped that bit."

"Kind of interesting. Not all worlds went down the path like ours. Some predators remained hunters while we decided to work with our prey to build a better future for all of our people," Tani said.

"But they are saber-toothed cats. Didn't we find fossils of these things from the ice age? How can they be aliens?" Nick asked, remembering the skeletons from the museum that his mother used to take him to whenever she scraped enough money for a trip.

"We don't know if the Smilodons have any connection to the Predators or vice versa. For all we know, they could be an example of convergent evolution, or something very, very deep," Tani said.

"Just one question," Judy said.

"What?" Chad asked.

"The case file... Chief Bogo has specifically dropped us all from the case and got some really mysterious looking people involved. You know, like 'Agents in Black' kind of mysterious. I don't like it, they're hiding something big. So how is it that you got the file, Chad?"

"I went through so much effort just to collect this scrap of pictures and documents. I have a friend who works on the inside. But he ain't cheap."

"Why? Why go through all this? Why risk so much just for that?" Judy asked as she pointed at the file.

"Because they killed my wife and daughter," Chad said.

"Aw shit, I'm sorry," Nick said, Judy too expressed her sympathies.

"It was ten years ago..."

* * *

Chad Howler was driving down the road. He heard crazy stories about violent gangs, most wanted fugitives hiding out in the caves nearby and preying on the innocent.

He paid it no heed. He paid attention to nothing except for the road ahead. That was until he saw a comet trail across the sky and vanish. It seemed to vanish too close to the ground, as if it crashed but there was no sound. It was the direction near to the small town where he lived with his wife and daughter.

After half an hour of driving, he reached his home. Something was off. The door was kicked down. Chad wasted no time and ran inside as soon as he was out of the car.

What he found in his living room changed him forever. His wife and daughter were on the floor, both motionless and both seemed to be missing pieces of their spine, a loaded gun was in his wife's hand with three shots fired. The police struggled to separate him from his wife and daughter's remains. His grief fuelled embrace was too strong to easily part.

He spent the two nights in jail until they released him free of charges. They also gave him two vases, claiming it contained the cremated remains of his family but he doubted it was true. He smelled a cover up and ever since then, he never gave up trying to find out what was really happening.

He found work as a cop. He met some shady friends from the government and sooner or later, he found himself with a file on the elusive Predators from outer space.

* * *

Judy was unsure on how to respond. Nick was too busy trying to sympathise with the old coyote. Tani was digging through the file, going across notes again.

Chad shook his head. "I don't need sympathies. I appreciate them, but that was ten years ago. All I want now, is justice. I want the Predators to pay."

"We need a plan," Tani said.

"Carrots? We could call Don Piano..."

Judy looked at Nick, he had the most irresistible puppy eyes on his face at the moment. The type that made it hell for Judy to refuse. So she gave in to his demands.

And so they discussed their plan, a plan to turn predator into prey.


	13. Chapter 12: The Predator

**Chapter 12: The Predator**

The spaceship's doors swung open and in walked the Predator. He carried the tusks and skins of the elephants as well as various pelts from the furry felines and those small mustelids he had slain.

He placed them near the other trophies that he had collected from countless worlds. He looked at a gaping maw of a giant armoured worm he had slain on a world half a galaxy away. That was a glorious battle. He hoped to find prey just as challening on this world.

But for now, the Predator needed a rest. Every hunter had to rest in-between hunts. It was a universal trait of all predatory animals.

And so the Predator tapped some commands onto the ship and a chair rose out from the ground. He sat on the metal chair, almost throne like in build.

Monitors in front of him came to life. Showing live feeds of other members of the Predator's race hunting on different worlds. He placed his mask on the ground and watched.

One screen showed a female Predator fighting bipedal prey that were amphibious and used biological technology.

Another screen showed a hunting party of four Predators digging their claws into a giant sky blocking worm as they climbed its armoured hide, towards the soft prize that were its huge eyes.

Another screen showed a male Predator sparring with a warrior-machine in some ancient ruins.

Another screen showed two brother Predators locked in battle against huge saurians.

And his personal favourite, a screen showing an entire clan engaging the gelatinous tentacled mass which was the offspring of a continent sized beast.

The hunter bared his fangs, laid back on his chair and watched hunts on other worlds, moons, asteroids, alien space stations, space habitats and motherships. He knew that what his mask had recorded was being broadcasted to the homeworld and then to the other worlds, moons, space habitats and motherships inhabited by the Predators. where other clans may watch his own hunt.

He beamed with pride. Pride for his own species and for himself.


	14. Chapter 13: Mr Big

**Chapter 13: Mr. Big**

Five days have passed, five silent and uneventful days for Mr. Big, ever since this madness started. The small crime boss was taken by surprise on the sixth day when a polar bear handed him the phone from an old friend and enemy.

And here he was, Mr. Big sat on his tiny chair and behind him stood his giant polar bear bodyguards. In front of the arctic shrew sat the last person he'd expect to see in his mansion that did not involve violence. Don Piano and his mustelids. Only he brought more than ferrets and weasels. He brought skunks, wolverines, otters and badgers.

Don Piano eyed Mr. Big. Thousands of years ago, mustelids would prey on tiny shrews such as this don before him. But times have changed, so much has changed that they are now in the same room hammering out a peace deal.

The room was dimly lit and Don Piano liked it that way. Mr. Big strived for a more neutral appeal to the environment.

"Don Piano, I am glad to see that you were ferret enough to see past our differences in these times. That after your boys got whacked, you decided to come to the only one who you feel could solve your problems," Mr. Big spoke in his very strange and yet recognizable accent.

"Thank you, Mr. Big. I feel that we are fragmented when we're fighting. A new age is approaching and it is time for us to face a common threat together. I'm sure you are familiar with what is going on overall. Not just my boys being whacked, but boys from other gangs too. How soon before this thing targets you?"

Mr. Big laid back in his chair, his head up and a strange laugh was escaping his mouth. "Don Piano, you underestimate me. Do you see who I am surrounded by?"

"Yes, I do. And do you really think that polar bears will keep you safe? The Tusk Gang which is comprised of elephants wasn't safe. You didn't see that on the news because it was covered up. But I had one weasel on the inside. He says it's the same type of carnage that you saw on the news with the Whispering Claws and my boys. Only elephants instead of cats and mustelids. I doubt even your polar bears can skin and string up one elephant upside down on a ceiling let alone six."

Don Piano motioned for a tiny least weasel to take some photos to Mr. Big. The weasel handed the photos and the arctic shrew eyed them. Six grisly elephants hanging with no skin or tusks on them.

"You know what I think, Mr. Big?"

"It's not a crazed vigilante like the news are saying?" the shrew replied.

"No. I think it's a hunter. Some kind of predator that they're not telling us about. I should know, after all, I am a predator," Don Piano said.

"It takes one to know one," Mr. Big responded with a strange courteous smile as he handed the photos back to the least weasel.

* * *

The two tiny heat blips talked to one another. The Predator zoomed in on them. He was perched atop the gate and elegantly stood as still as a gargoyle. His cloaking kept him invisible from the polar bears patrolling the mansion.

Something was puzzling to the saber-toothed cat. He noticed these tiny creatures that communed with each other seemed to be in charge of their respective clans. He could understand the small long creature, as most of its clan seemed to be comprised of such things. He had followed the small long ones, hoping they would lead him to larger and richer hunting grounds. This is where they lead him. He turned his attention to the other, more confusing creature which was the small short one on a tiny chair.

How can that small prey lead a group of giant predators? His three hearts raced with excitement, each of the thumps sang life into him. And so the Predator leapt from his perch and landed near one of the polar bears who split from the group.

The bear barely uttered a word before the nanovibronic wrist blades ended the small fragile spark that was his life. As he fell, it alerted one of the nearby bears to the thud. The Predator pulled out a metal disc with spikes jutting out of the edges and threw it at the bear.

It barely noticed the invisible disk as it tore through flesh and bone. Another thud and three more bears raced in. A triangular aiming reticule highlighted one of the bears, followed by a flashing from his shoulder mounted plasma caster that sent hot plasma death at the bear in the middle.

Then he fired a net at the bear to the left, sending the giant prey flying into a wall, the net began to constrict and cut into the screaming bear. The remaining bear began to fire at the Predator with his weapon. The alien's armour deflected some of the rounds, but what projectiles hit his flesh only sent irritation.

* * *

Don Piano and Mr. Big both jumped in response to the sudden commotion outside. Screams and gunfire erupted and the darkness outside the windows flashed as more gunshots and something else not from this world were being fired.

"Shit, it followed us here," Don Piano said. "How did it follow us here? We drove the smallest car we could conceivably fit in!"

"Like you said, Don Piano. It's some kind of predator. And what do predators do? They stalk, they hunt," Mr. Big responded with a strange aura of calmness which opposed Don Piano's sudden panic. The yin to the yang.

Mr. Big stood up from his chair and motioned for one of his guards. The big bear meekly picked up his boss, such tenderness in his efforts to avoid crushing the small arctic shrew.

"Don Piano, it seems that our predatory friend will make it difficult for you to leave on your own. I extend a hand of friendship in the face of a new enemy who is disrespecting us both. We will ice him together."

Mr. Big motioned and the big bear extended a hand to Don Piano, offering to take him along with Mr. Big. Don Piano hesitated at first, but common sense and logic convinced him that in the end, this will be the best route to take.

As he stepped on the paw, he looked back at his weasels, they were all climbing up on the polar bear and clung to him. All except for one. The Shadow. Don Piano nodded to him and The Shadow knew exactly what he had to do.

* * *

The Shadow raced across the garden, the grass shielded him quite well. It was cold and dark outside and the dead around him masked his scent with their blood. Mustelids were famous for their strong musk, after all, Skunks were in the same family. The Shadow had the advantage of being a least weasel, the tiniest carnivorous mammal.

He had got the name due to his silent habit of sneaking up on people from sources devoid of light and striking at a major artery. The Shadow was well versed in the anatomical structure of practically everything that called Zootropolis its home. He is what made Don Piano almost as feared as Mr. Big.

It didn't take long, but The Shadow found his prey. A large bipedal monstrosity that was invisible. Its cloak didn't hide the whole thing. If you pay attention, you will see a slight outline of the beast, even in darkness. Also the creature's scent was pretty strong, not mustelid strong, but noticeably strong.

He lay down in the grass, the cold night and the tall grass was now his home for the next few minutes as he watched his giant prey approach him.

* * *

The Predator eyed the giant polar bear who held a bear in its paws. A tap on the computer on its left gauntlet switched the Predator's vision mode to a spectrum that read brainwaves. The bear was distraught. Clearly the prey was attached emotionally to his slain friend.

This excited the Predator, a distraught prey often sought revenge, and with revenge came a glorious fight. He took a silent step forward, careful not to cause noise by stepping on a twig or stepping too roughly as to cause the earth itself to creak.

* * *

The Shadow smirked, the creature was getting closer. He eyed it and noticed some feline features despite the invisibility. It seemed to have pantherine ears. Its front paws looked strange, not like lion or tiger paws but even more so built for grasping with slightly longer fingers that ended in claws. It also walked upright like all Zootopian mammals.

When it got close enough, he leapt and struck at its leg, an artery where he knew he'd find because all cats had it right there. Then he began to climb the creature, but something wasn't right. Why wasn't it falling? He quickly leapt down and hid in the grass again.

The Shadow looked up, only to see a sharp spear tip blast through his tiny weasel head and everything went black.


	15. Chapter 14: The Predator

**Chapter 14: The Predator**

The hunter withdrew his spear from the tiny creature. He noticed it had a small knife in its hand and had landed a tiny scratch on his leg. An irritation no doubt. But he couldn't help admire its bravery. He will take its spine when he was done with the giant polar bear he'd been stalking.

He approached the bear, this time not even trying to be sneaky. The bear's ears perked up to the sound of strong foot steps and he stood up, facing the general direction of the invisible hunter.

The Predator tapped his wrist computer and the cloaking field was turned off, rendering him visible to the last remaining opponent on this hunting ground. The bear growled and bared his fangs.

The hunter clicked, purring loudly as he undid the wiring of his mask, clicks followed by hiss and off the mask went. The bear stared at the face of a large saber-toothed cat almost as big as himself. The huge muscles of the cat were unlike anything he had ever seen on any lion or tiger. He watched as the hunter took off his shoulder gun and armour, dropping it all to the ground.

The bear roared at the cat and charged. The Predator roared in exchange and quickly grabbed onto the charging bear. The two pushed against eachother as if they were in a sumo wrestling match. The Predator was slightly taken aback by how strong these giant beasts were.

The bear too was surprised. Normally any feline was no match for a polar bear. There were instances when tigers would take on brown bears. But never a polar bear. That is until now, this thing, whatever it was, was meeting him as an equal in strength if not surpassing him.

The Predator sent a knee into the bear's gut. The polar bear felt all the air go out of his lungs from the powerful kick. This forced him to let go of the Predator and wheeze. The alien took advantage and swiped with his claws at the bear's face, sending dark crimson blood flying in the moonlit night and onto the grey grass.

The bear went back a few feet. He regained his composure just in time to see the creature lunge towards him. He wasted no time and swiped at its face in kind. The Predator did not see that coming and recoiled slightly at the force of the bear's swipe. Strange glowing orange blood trickled down his face.

"What the fuck are you?" the bear asked, disgust and surprise in his shaking rage fuelled voice.

The Predator responded by lunging at the bear and tackled him down. The polar bear grunted as he was slammed against the ground. He wrapped his arms around the Predator and squeezed as hard as he could.

The feline let out a roar of surprise. He had not forseen such a tactic and for the second time he had experienced a sense of helplessness. He had only encountered one other prey somewhere in the galaxy that gave him a similar sense of helplessness. A huge lumbering insect with jaws that gave a sensation of a thousand bites in one.

And yet, that thing seemed far deadlier than the polar bear squeezing the life out of him. This was an inherent flaw that the Predator's race possessed. A pride so big that it underestimated all prey. Forsaking all possible dangers in the name of glory.

The cat grabbed onto the bear's arms and tried to pry them open from behind. The bear roared and bit into the Predator's shoulder. A rather cheap but desperate move. The cat growled in irritation and unsheathed his nanovibronic wrist blades. Soon his purring was followed by the bear's agonizing, ear splitting scream as he lost sensation in his left arm.

With a powerful kick of his legs, the Predator had sent himself leaping backwards and landing a few feet away from the bear's grip. The polar bear stood up, feeling dizzy from the shock of sudden pain and blood loss. He looked down and saw his left arm on the floor, then back at the Predator, at his twin wrist blades which were dripping with blood. Crimson blood in contrast to the Predator's strange bioluminescent orange blood that decorated its yellow and white fur.

The bear picked up his bloodied and severed arm as he charged at the Predator in a blind rage. He intended to knock the cat's head clean off with one swipe of his severed arm as a club. The Predator quickly reacted by blocking the swipe and then plunging his wrist blades through the bear's chest. The bear fell down, dead before he even touched the ground.

The cat went to work, removing the skull and spine as a trophy and roared a primeval victory song as lightning illuminated the blood soaked gardens and thunder joined his symphony of slaughter. Then he retrieved his dropped equipment and went to work decorating the hunting grounds by displaying the prey upside down. All pelts removed like in previous hunts.

He did not forget about the tiny weasel who had ambushed him from the grass. He remembered to take the spine as he had promised himself.


	16. Chapter 15: Nick Wilde

**Chapter 15: Nick Wilde**

Judy stared at the mansion that belonged to Mr. Big. The police have barricaded the area and no one dared to enter. Footsteps from behind have alerted her to Nick. She learned to recognize his walking style.

"Hey, Carrots. Think it's the Predator?" Nick said in a hushed voice, trying not to alert anyone else. Judy nodded to him. Why else would everyone be standing outside waiting for something to happen?

Chad and Tani arrived not long after Chad was done arguing with the rhino in charge. He motioned for the fox and rabbit to follow them. Upon their arrival towards the scene, a cheetah officer halted them.

"Sorry guys, it's off limits to us. Chief Bogo's orders."

Chad looked back at Judy, Nick and Tani. They both stared back. "Did you all hear that?" Chad asked. Nick and Tani shook their heads.

"See? We didn't hear that. Let's go," Chad motioned and they followed past the cheetah who was rolling her eyes. Everyone at the precinct knew that Chad usually got shit from Bogo for insurbodination. How he gets away with it was anyone's guess.

* * *

Judy and Nick looked upon the Predator's handiwork. Such gruesome and disgusting displays lay before them, as if like a sick present. Tani was visibly disturbed, staring at pictures in a file is one thing, but experiencing it before your eyes was a whole other story.

"Flayed, mutilated, taken as trophies," Chad narrated as he pointed to various polar bears and one dead least weasel on the grass.

"Who could take on several grown polar bears?" Nick asked.

"An apex predator, that's who. Besides, the hunter was well prepared. See this?" Chad pointed at a bear with a large hole in his chest. "The files mention that the Predators sometimes employ plasma weaponry at a distance."

While Judy was too busy examining the bear. Nick picked up a strange scent. It wasn't a repulsive smell, but it was a strong noticeable one. "You smell that?" he asked Chad.

"Yes. Canids and Vulpids have been reported to be able to smell through a Predator's cloaking field."

Before Nick could respond, bright lights engulfed all of them.

"You're stepping on my evidence," a female goat said as she walked towards the group of insubordinate misfits. She was accompanied by several canids who no doubt were employed due to their sense of smell as Chad had explained to Nick a moment ago.

"Who are you?" Chad asked.

"Special Agent Gleda Stormhorn. Now if you don't mind, I got work to do. Go on, shifty," she motioned for the group and shooed them towards the exit.

Chad was stubborn, he walked up to the goat but a wolf stood in front and blocked the coyote's path.

"Who the fuck are you, Stormhorn? Who do you really work for?"

"She's the last person you wanna fuck with, and she works for the last people you wanna fuck with," the wolf responded. His large frame dwarfed the coyote and his stare was menacing.

Chud grumbled and then called for his group to leave. They won't be making any progress with these assholes here impeding them.

* * *

Nick rested his arms on the steering wheel of the cruiser as he commandered the engine to propel them to another event, to a whole new experience in the forseeable future. He always felt relaxed while driving. And he did enjoy Judy's fast paced driving too, she had such skill. But when he drove, it allowed his mind to wander deep in their thoughts when the roads were empty.

The bunny rested on the passenger seat, almost asleep. Heavy eyelids made her look rather cute. He wanted to reach out and pinch her cheeks. He wondered what her family was like. She told him about the legion of siblings that she had. Her very own personal army. Her parents were a very busy couple indeed.

Nick frowned as his focus shifted back towards the road ahead. He remembered his own family and how messed up his past was. Losing the greatest father figure that he ever had to some scumbag. Seeing his mother's spirit crushed by poverty and desperation as well as being bullied as a kit by prey animals simply for being a predator.

Nick's face turned from sad to disgusted. His sorrow turned into hatred. He loathed the very thought of the Predator. Ever since he became a cop, Nick dedicated his talents to try and shift prey perceptions of predators. His kind already had it bad enough as it was.

And now some asshole from space decides to come down here and for what? A fucking hunt? From what Nick read in the file, the Predators don't seem to eat what they hunted and killed. There's been mention of bovines being possibly partially eaten by Predators but the evidence wasn't strong enough. Most of their other victims remained mainly untouched, that is if you ignore the missing pelts as well as removal of the skulls and spines.

This hatred made Nick want to fight harder. He wanted to look into his own instincts and use them against the Predator. Chad and Tani had discussed their plans and have gone off to see some friends in high places.

Nick too had a friend. Not high in places but certainly 'high' in the head. Nick knew everyone in the city and he was going to use that as a resource.

* * *

Once Judy was dropped at her place. Nick wasted no time in contacting a certain nutty friend of his. A Honey Badger who went by the name of... 'Honey Badger'. Nick grinned as he found her on his contacts. He hasn't heard from her in ages.

"Hello?" she finally answered after three rings.

"Hey, Honey!"

"Nick!?"

"Who were you expecting?"

"Baa!" she responded with the classic sheep noise. Honey always believed that sheep ran the government, that sheep owned the media, that sheep were the Illuminati who wanted to make a New Baa Order.

"Listen, Honey. I gotta come to your place. It's also really urgent. Thing are getting really bad."

"How baad?"

Nick chuckled. Honey's puns should be considered criminal and illegal. He missed her with every atom.

"Really baad, Honey, really baaaaad."

"Well then, get your cute foxy aaass over here, Nick. You still remember where I live, right?"

"Yeah. I'm heading there right now," Nick said and hanged up.

* * *

Honey sat on her chair with Nick standing behind her. He rested his hands on the back of the chair as the honey badger furiously typed something. The apartment was quite a messy looking place and Nick could smell greasy food all over the place. Plus some crumbs were visible on Honey's fur and clothes.

"Here I am, Nick. Give me a few seconds to bypass security... heeere we gooo... one more encryption aaand done. So, what kind of dirt are we sniffing up?"

"Predators."

"Say what?"

"Saber-toothed alien Predators from outer space."

"Niiick... here, you might find this useful," she handed him a tinfoil hat and Nick playfully placed it on his head with a silly smile. Honey turned back towards her monitor to search and she did for a couple of minutes until her eyes went wide when she found a very classified file.

"Nick... do you know how far I had to dig just for this? What's going on?"

"Well, Honey... something's hunting people and I want to put an end to it. The problem is, our pals who govern us don't want anyone meddling."

"They're working with the Predators aren't they? The fucking sheep masters would do that kind of thing you know?"

"I haven't seen any sheep. There was a goat though and she was in charge of the operation, or so it seemed."

"Goats go 'baa,' don't they? They work with the fucking sheep, Nicky. I'm telling you. This is some huge shit right here. Predators come to our world on holiday, government covers up and probably gets a nice little treat from the Predators. Probably a deal such as 'you let us hunt your people and we won't blow up your fucking planet' or something. How did I never find this?"

"Because you never searched for it, you silly badger. You were always so distracted with sheep."

"Hmm... word needs to get out."

"Not yet, Honey. I don't want another anti-predator shit storm to brew. It was bad enough last time when Judy messed up her public speech"

"But this Predator is targetting both kinds, it does not discriminate."

Honey had a point.

"Honey, what can you find out on Gleda Stormhorn? She was the goat in charge of the feds who got us all off the case involving the Predator."

Honey began to search. Once more, this took several minutes of decrypting and bypassing the most elusive of files until she dug something up. Badgers were so damn good at digging things.

"Here we go. Gleda Stormhorn. Graduated from Animalia Kingdom University. She has a Masters degree in criminal psychology and has passed law enforcement courses. Uhmmm... that's pretty much it."

Nick narrowed his eyes. That 'file' on Gleda didn't seem genuine. Like Chad asked her, just who the hell was she? His phone beeped and he saw a text from the most important person in his life.

"Honey, dig up anything you can and keep in touch. I gotta go."

"Okay, see ya Nicky."

* * *

Nick walked out of the apartment block where Honey lived. His bright red heat signature was being observed by the invisible Predator who rested on Honey's balcony.

He had seen them investigate his hunting grounds earlier.

"Nick" must be the name of this small vulpine creature. Nick looked so frail. The Predator could easily snap his neck in his grasp. But it wasn't the physical appearance of Nick that intrigued the Predator. The hunter was thrilled at the determination of this small prey animal.

He had a feeling that this prey was intelligent. He was excited about the idea of prey trying to turn hunter into hunted. It made the experience much more thrilling. The prey reached into its pocket and pulled out a small device.

"Hey, mom," it said. The Predator recorded that voice.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Don't worry, everything's fine. See you soon. Ok. Love you too. Bye mom."

The Predator clicked as its visor recorded the voices and sent them to the homeworld. The huge databases back home housed countless recordings and possible translations. One translation came back.

'Mom' - the female of a parent group who brings forth an offspring into the world.

'There' - indicated somewhere, the 'be' hinted that the prey will be headed to a location. The location where its 'mom' is.

The Predator's hearts raced with excitement, filling the chest with the rhythm of three heart beats.

This prey planned on hunting him. But the Predator now had the perfect bait. Something to lure the prey into a more challenging state of mind. Something to spice the hunt up.

Nick had a pack of other prey with him and the Predator had hoped that his plan will lure them into his game as well.

He leapt from the balcony and landed on the roof of a nearby building. He leapt with feline elegance across the buildings. His leaps were fast enough to keep up with Nick's vehicle.


	17. Chapter 16: Chad Howler

**Chapter 16: Chad Howler**

Tani laid out something on the table in front of Chad. He looked at the large sniper rifle as it rested gently against the table. Tani also held out a small metal box in front of him and teasingly wiggled it with a playful smile on her friendly face.

"Don't do that," he grunted as he reached for the lead box.

"Relax, Chad. It's not gonna blow up in our faces," Tani said as she placed the radioactive explosive bullets down beside the rifle.

"Now all that remains is for me to track down the Predator's ship. Did you manage to dig up anything?" Chad asked.

While Chad had been reaching out to his not so cheap friend in high places and drilling another huge hole in his wallet, Tani was busy searching the news for anything unusual. A few nights ago which was shortly before the Predator's hunts began, a shooting star was reported soaring across the skies of Zootropolis. Some witnesses claimed that it seemed to crash in Sahara Square but no one dared look as the desert was unusually hostile at this time of the year due to the heat waves.

The tigress handed him the map with a big red circle around the general vicinity which the reports claim that the meteor had made landfall. Chad knew the scent of the Predator, he would let his seasoned coyote nose do the rest.

"I'll stick close," Tani said. Chad nodded at the tigress and they both grabbed their gear.

Chad wore a heat insulating suit that his contact had sold him. Half his fucking life savings that cost, and that was at a discount. Not only was it heat insulating, but it covered him "from other ways of seeing" as the bull had put it.

Tani wore the same suit which cost him the other half of his life savings. Her rifle was slung over her shoulder. Chad knew that Tani wouldn't miss a shot. She had been the best shooter in the range anyway, graduated top of her class. This is why she was going to make this thing bleed hard. And Chad was anxious to see what colour the bastard bleeds.

* * *

After what seemed like forever. The old coyote and the tigress have reached Sahara Square. It was night, so the heat was not blazing down upon them. The night was still quite hot and their suits would adjust to the temperature which would hopefully keep them shielded from the Predator's visions.

"I think we're near," Tani said. Chad nodded and the two got out. Chad carried with himself a different kind of gun similar to Tani's, but without the radioactive explosive round. This gun was more like a handheld rail gun which Chad could barely carry due to the weight. This one had armour penetrating bullets designed for shooting through a tank's hull and coming out through the other side and still liquidating something again.

Chad made sure. He didn't know how strong the Predators were. He did not want to take chances. He cared little if the thing suffered or not. Chad had a contingency plan in mind.

Tani was afraid that they might not survive this. Chad really didn't care about his own survival. But even he felt that Tani's death would be a waste of a life. She had so much more to live for. Chad had lost his reasons but not Tani. He wouldn't let the Predator take her. That's why he prepared to not only hit this thing, but its people, wherever they are out there in space.

The two carried on walking, and as they trailed across the sands, Chad's nose picked up a familiar scent.


	18. Chapter 17: Nick Wilde

**Chapter 17: Nick Wilde**

Nick's eyes frantically darted across the house. He ran into each room and sniffed deep into his lungs. Something was so wrong. He smelled his mother, but he also smelled the scent he had picked up at the crime scene in the gardens of Mr. Big's mansion.

The Predator was here.

"MOM!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Tears began to sting in his eyes as panic stabbed at his racing heart. Each room he lunged into, he was afraid he'd find her hanging upside down, dead and mutilated.

But fate seemed to have a sick sense of humour.

It smiled at him because every room was empty, no sickening remains or scent of blood.

But it seemed to cackle maniacly at the same time due to the complete and utter absence of his dearest mother in each room.

He reached for his phone and almost dropped it due to how hard his hands were quivering. He dialled Judy's number, nearly cracking the screen thanks to the force of pushing against it so hard.

 **'BRRP!' 'BRRP!'**

 **'BRRP!' 'BRRP!'**

 **'BRRP!' 'BRRP!'**

"Judy, answer the FUCKING phone!" Nick yelled to no one. He didn't mean to offend but due to how dire the situation was, he was just about ready to shit a brick right now.

"Hello?"

"JUDY!"

"OW! Cut the screaming down a notch-"

"JUDY LISTEN TO ME, MY MOM IS GONE!"

"Wait, slow down! What!?" she asked with an urgent tone overtaking her once sleepy voice. She was now jolted awake.

"My mom, she's not home. She called me a few hours ago to come and see her after so long and now she's gone, Judy, she's fucking gone. I can smell the fucking Predator here as well."

"Oh shit, Nick! I-is she, I mean-"

"I don't know, Judy. She's not here..."

"Nick, stay with me. If she's not there then that thing must have taken her somewhere. I think it's toying with us or trying to trap us."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"When I was taking history classes. We learned that some predators would toy with their prey back in the old times. And some hunting tactics involved traps and lures. Nick, your mom is fine. She's just being used as bait."

"How do you know?"

"Because I think the Predator wants us to come after it... Nick, we are the prey. Not your mom."

"Then let's not keep it waiting!"


	19. Chapter 18: The Predator

**Chapter 18: The Predator**

The prey sat in the corner of the dank and dirty empty room in the abandoned building. The hunter looked at her. She seemed quite brave but he knew that she was scared out of her bones. Her single heart beat sang in his ears, wailing a chorus of fear and helplessness which fuelled him with energy.

"W-what do you want?" her voice quivered and the shaky tones reached the cat's perked ears.

 **"W-whaaat... w-what do yoouu... you... want,"** the Predator repeated, saying it once more until the words came out perfectly. He had mimicked her words with his own voice, not with the device he used to record prey vocalizations. His voice was deep and rough, like a growling lion and tiger mixed into one.

 **"Nick... Mom... Nick..."**

"Leave my Nick alone!" she responded with a raised and more aggravated tone. The Predator smelled her pheromones, she exuded aggression. The cat purred with satisfaction.

The vixen watched the saber-toothed killer reach out for something and then display it to her. It was the giant skull of a polar bear. The hunter was also decorated with skulls from creatures not of this world.

 **"Nick... My Nick..."** the Predator repeated as the smooth skull of the bear glared back at the vixen. The empty eye sockets of the skull were all that was left of the area which once was home to the windows of the soul. To a personality. To a person.

She could not bare the thought of this sick demon using her son's head as some sort of morbid prize. She threw herself at the hunter cat, but quickly found herself slammed against the wall with a loud thud followed by her pained groaning. The Predator's right hand wrapped tightly around her neck and squeezed with otherworldly strength. She was pinned and trapped in a helpless situation that made her feel so empty inside.

The Predator hung the once living and breathing polar bear's skull on his belt and then reached out to stroke the vixen's face with his left hand. The pads at the end of his fingers were very sensitive to the touch, and they felt every hair that they trailed across on the vixen's head.

Her fur was so soft and warm. To an outsider, this may seem like admiration. Like someone thinking something 'cute.' But to the Predator's alien mind, 'cute' was an equally alien concept.

His claws reached for the vixen's muzzle and pried it open. She thought of biting, but was too afraid. The cat's very own saber-teeth were an intimidating sight that made her think more than twice about causing it more trouble. Plus the strength was overwhelming. She had no choice but to let it trail its fingers across her teeth.

And then suddenly, the monster released her and let the vixen drop down onto the floor. The thing's loud purring was echoing across the room, like a series of weird vampire bat like clicks. The vixen watched as the Predator pulled out a small furry creature from its belt and handed it to her.

A rat plumped right besides her. Was that why it probed her mouth? To deduce her diet by examining her tooth structure? It was common for predators to have sharp teeth built for rending flesh while prey had more blunt teeth designed for consuming plants.

She watched as the Predator pulled out another creature, much larger than the rat. A brown rabbit. The creature was scratching at the fur of the dead lagamorph, looking for something until it finally latched onto what it sought. With a swift motion, the Predator yanked the fur away from the rabbit. Leaving behind a grisly display of musculature and anatomy.

The vixen watched as the saber-toothed cat nibbled at the rabbit. It sickened her to the core. She almost laughed at how ironic this must be. Millenia ago, her ancestors used to eat rabbits and here she was ready to throw up at the very sight of a rabbit being eaten.

How and why did something so natural feel this wrong?

Rabbits were people too. Nick's best friend was a rabbit from what he had told her when she recieved a letter from him. She was so proud of her boy becoming a police officer. She still has that letter safely stashed back home.

And the thoughts of Nick made her worry. It reminded her that a monster was coming after her one and only Nick, her blessed son.

And so she silently wept. And only the rat's dead eyes beside her bore witness to her lonely sorrow, unable to comprehend her anguish as they silently stared and reflected back the image of a crying and helpless mother.


	20. Chapter 19: Nick Wilde

**Chapter 19: Nick Wilde**

The engine roared and the tires screeched with Nick's silent but fiery fury, this vehicle was now the very personification of his unforgiving rage. Judy sat silently on the passenger seat, her eyes darting from Nick to the road and back to Nick. He hadn't said much ever since she arrived to his mother's empty home.

It had been an entire day but now the media was buzzing with news. A vixen was reported hanging from an abandoned apartment. Judy feared the worst until she saw the news footage on her smartphone which showed that she was hanging on a rope tied to her ankles. She was squirming which was a good sign that she most likely wasn't dead. The video wasn't the best quality so Judy could not tell if the fox was hurt or not.

Nick stepped harder on the pedal and Judy feared that any more force would break it.

"Nick, remember what I said? It wants us to come. It'll probably be prepared," Judy said.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK, JUDY! That alien piece of shit has my mom, you understand!? I'm going there regardless of if it wants me to or not!" Nick growled and exuded so much aggression to such levels that it made Judy feel uncomfortable seeing her best friend like this.

Judy had never seen Nick so pissed. This was even worse than that time when she slipped some words during her speech to the public. She fucked up real bad on that. But this, Nick's not even mad, he's furious. He's gone totally savage but in a controlled way. Or maybe not.

Nick's mind raced with all kinds of thoughts. When he had first seen the news, he was ready to burst. When he saw her hanging on the edge of a balcony, he thought his world had ended. But when he saw her squirm, he was relieved that she still lived and yet he was also enraged at how the Predator was practically humiliating her. Making her a centre of drama. Using her to bait him.

He feared about the emotional damages. If they all lived. His mom will forever be known as "that vixen hanging from a building." He prayed that she was tough. He knew his mom well and how much she pulled through all kinds of shit. But this was a whole new level of shitstorm.

Nick's mouth foamed with rage. The Predator has just walked into a shitstorm of his own.


	21. Chapter 20: The Predator

**Chapter 20: The Predator**

The saber-toothed cat sat atop the rooftop. His cloak hid him in the darkness as the "po-leese" clan showed up. These warriors were different though. They had more armour on them and carried bigger weapons. His visor scanned them and noticed many more projectiles and firepower.

Some of the warriors covered the entrance of the building. They had big rectangular shields in front of them. The Predator bared his fangs under his metal mask, his alien form of a grin. This Arbitrator warrior-clan was brave. While the other prey tended to run, this one came to him.

"YOU ARE SURROUNDED! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" their amplified voices demanded of the fanged battle cat.

With a happy growl, he stood up and went into the building. The large creature elegantly moved through the corridors. His mask already picked up the breaching noises made by the warriors as they blew the doors and ran inside. Hooves and shoes bravely propelled towards where most tended to run from. Their noises echoed through the mask's ear pieces which fed his alert mind with information.

The Predator waited for one of them, a giant bull, to take cover at a corner of one of the doors. The hunter could not see the bull, only hear his hooves as they took place.

"You, over there! Check that corridor! You, left room, you five, upstairs!" the bull whispered but the Predator's alien mask picked up the subtle noises and fed them through the ear pieces direcntly into his pantherine ears.

The Predator switched his visor and the bull lit up through the wall. With a swift kick, the wall crumbled and the hunter lunged at the prey. The bull bleated as the hunter tackled him through the other wall.

"CONTACT! COVER ME!" A small antelope ran into the room, his assault rifle firing at the Predator. Most bullets deflected from his armour, but the few that hit into his muscular body only caused jolts of irritation.

The antelope saw as a large cat appeared out of thin air from the general direction he was shooting.

 **"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"** the Predator mimicked the words which were demanded of him as he lunged at the antelope and with one vice grip across his neck, shattered multiple verterbrae.

"NO!" the bull yelled and charged at the Predator. The hunter was knocked from the momentum and surprise and tumbled to the floor.

"You're fucking with the police, smart guy!" the bull yelled as he tried to grab the hunter's wrists. The other SWAT members all ran in to help their comrade.

With a roar, the Predator flung himself upwards and threw everyone in various directions away from him. He turned on his shoulder mounted plasma gun and fired at multiple warriors who readied their weapons. His aiming lasers danced across the corridors and plasma picked off any who were unfortunate to be caught in its gaze.

He turned and grabbed the discombobulated bull by the horns and twisted until he heard a sickening crack coming from his neck. He threw the dead bull towards the small Jackal at the end of the corridor, ending him.

More SWAT arrived from the end of the corridor and aimed their guns at the monster. The Predator tapped his left gauntlet and disappeared.

"Where did it go?" a leopard asked.

"I can't see it at a-AARRK..." a spear went through a wolf's chest and with a shove, flung him at the leopard.

"Johnson's down! Contact to the left!"

"Where?"

"Where fuck is it!?"

"HELP!"

"OH SHIT, IT GOT HASPER!"

"FUCK! WE GOT A LEOPARD DOWN!"

"AAEEEUUEERGH!"

"EVERYBODY RETREAT! TAKE A STEP BACK AND RE-ASSESS THE SITUATION!"

"I'M ON MY WAY OUT - OH SHIT! HELP!"

"NOO! TAKE COVER!"

A trio of lasers aimed and plasma breezed through the corridors, cleansing them.

* * *

Two hours have passed and Chief Bogo has sent in five more teams. That's five SWAT units. Each one reported seeing fucked up shit before going silent. Grisly shrines of fellow comrades on display for others to see.

"You shouldn't have sent them in," a female goat said as she stepped forward.

"Why? What was I supposed to do? Send in hippies to give it a hug?" Bogo responded to the voice before he realized who it was.

"You know, I always liked the way you retort," Gleda Stormhorn said with a smile. Behind her stood a group of specialized wolves, all dressed in outfits that Bogo could only speculate were designed to keep you hidden from infrared.

"Agent Stormhorn, I thought you were handling the 'Hunter' case. Why are you here? This is a hostage situation."

"Oh really, Chief Bogo? Haven't you thought that I'm maybe here because our 'Hunter' friend is in that building slaughtering the brave people you've just sent to their doom?"

As she had uttered that, a loud crumbling noise was heard as a piece of the apartment's wall shattered and a bison flew out, screaming as he fell to his death twenty stories below with a loud thud.

"Ffffuck..." Bogo whispered.

"Keep your people back. I'm sending in mine," and with that, Gleda had flicked her hand up and motioned for the specialized 'WolfPack' Agents to move into position and head out there.

* * *

The wolves ran across the corridors with practiced movements. Agent Sniff and Agent Paw took point. Specialized sub-zero guns were in their hands. They intended to freeze the Predator with liquid nitrogen and then thaw it out in a secure cage for study.

"Agent Fang, go ahead and scout the room to the right," Agent Sniff ordered.

Agent Fang ran ahead and looked into the room, his weapon pointed in.

Nothing.

"Sir, nothing in h-"

Agent Fang was yanked into the room, his sentence interrupted by a bloodcrudling scream followed by dying gurgling sounds.

"CONTACT! PREDATOR IN THE ROOM TO THE RIGHT!" Agent Paw bellowed.

Five WolfPack members ran into the room with Agent Paw and Sniff covering the entrance to the door. They could see neither Predator nor Agent Fang. Their masks amplified the environmental scents which improved their already incredible lupine senses of smell.

The Predator's deep scent was nearby and so was Agent Fang's. They also followed the blood trail left behind which lead to a stairway.

"Oh shit," Agent Fur said as they found Agent Fang hanging and eviscerated on the edge of the stairs. His blood trail didn't end there as the group could see the Predator's bloody clawed hand prints on the walls.

"Fucker wants us to follow, let's not keep it waiting," Agent Sniff said and pointed with his muzzle towards the stairs.

* * *

"Agent Fang's down," Gleda's communicator chimed and she sighed. Bogo heard it too and his sound was a bit more akin to an irritated but silent grunt.

"We're following the trail of handprints up the stairs."

"It's an obvious trap, Stormhorn," Bogo said.

"Copy that, carry on and remember... 'alive', I want that thing's organs functioning at the operating table," Gleda said.

Bogo's eyes went wide.

"What? What 'thing'? You gonna operate on it?"

Gleda sighed and rolled her eyes. Mayor Lionheart and the government wanted the public to be ignorant about the Predator's existence, or as far as Lionheart was concerned, a crazed predatory maniac. But she felt that Bogo had earned his right to know.

"We're dealing with an alien lifeform from another world. A monster who comes to our Earth on holiday. Unfortunately for us, this thing is an alpha predator with a taste for challenging prey and thrilling hunts. It's nothing personal for them though. They travel who knows how many light years, just to kill things. Simply because they can," Gleda explained.

"So, uh, it's not a crazed psychopath like the Mayor's file told me? Wait, does HE know?" Bogo asked, puzzled.

"Nope. He knows there's a crazed killer, but he doesn't know what is really going on, and is told to shut his big yap if he wants to keep his status as mayor. What? You really think it's coincidental that after the 'Night Howler' incident, he's back to being mayor again? No my dear Chief, it's not a coincidence. We placed him back because he did the wrong things for the right reasons and knows how to remain quiet for the sake of national and public security."

"You knew all along, why didn't you tell me earlier? Back at the precinct?" Bogo raised his voice.

"Tell you what? Please word it to me, Bogo. I wanna hear it."

"Oh I don't know, like there's some fucking... uh... 'Predator' on the loose or something."

"Agent Mange? Do you copy? Report in, Agent Mange," Gleda's communicator roared into life. Snapping her and Bogo out of their argument and into reality.

* * *

Just as Agent Bite had spoke the words, a deep purr sounded behind him before a hand grabbed his muzzle followed by another hand behind his neck which then turned his head in a painful direction until all that remained was darkness.

The Predator dropped the wolf and reached into his pocket to pull out a sharp disc. He flung it at the nearest wolves, cleaving them in half.

Agent Sniff and Agent Paw watched their remaining comrades fall, their lives fading out of existence.

"TAKE THIS YOU ALIEN MOTHERFUCKER!" Agent Paw roared and sprayed liquid nitrogen at the Predator who emitted a rather painful scream in response.

"HA HA HA, HURTS DON'T IT!? OH BOY, YOU'RE IN A LOTTA PAIN WHEN WE GET TO KNOW YOU A BIT CLOSER BACK AT THE LABS!" Agent Paw was clearly having a wild time.

Agent Sniff grinned and joined his comrade in freezing the Predator.

The cat growled and roared before he rammed his entire body at Agent Paw. Agent Sniff watched as Agent Paw flew out of the room like a rag doll being discarded by a spoiled brat, and then he heard a bone shattering thud and a dying yelp.

Then a clawed hand grabbed his gun, yanked it out of his hands and slammed the gun onto the ground, breaking it into dozens of pieces.

 **"HA HA HA HA... MOTHERFUCKER! YOU'RE IN A LOTTA PAIN... HA HA HA HA!"**

"Oh shit..." was all that Agent Sniff could muster before the Predator grabbed him by the neck and effortlessly dragged him closer to his demise.

* * *

The police witnessed as each and every wolf of the WolfPack was flung across the balcony and hung on a thread. The flayed corpses sent a grisly message for all brave warriors - 'this is what awaits you should you dare come after me.'

Then something else happened. Out of the highest row of windows from the building, objects began to fly out followed by shrill ear splitting screams.

It didn't take long for Chief Bogo to recognize the beheaded heads as they slammed onto the ground with sickening thuds and cracks. Their dead eyes had the last moments of suffering written all over them. It didn't help that the Predator was playing back their screams among other fearful dying noises.

The police officers and SWAT were visibly getting shaken by this barbaric display of intimidation.

"Hold your ground, everyone!" Bogo bellowed.

"My... WolfPack... they're dead... they're all dead..." Gleda whispered to herself.

A car screeched nearby, the doors swung open and the two occupants stood out.

"I'm going in," Nick said with a growly toxin in his voice.

"No, Wilde, you are to hold your gro- WILDE! Shit, HOPPS! BOTH OF YOU, GET BACK HERE!" Bogo's words fell on deaf ears as the fox and rabbit ran into the building.

* * *

The Predator watchd from the balcony like a gargoyle.

 **"Nick!"** the hunter repeated in Nick's mother's voice. His three hearts slammed excitement into his chest and with a graceful energetic bounce, the Predator ran into the empty dead rooms of the building and bounded into the corridors.

He had a little surprise for Nick.

* * *

Nick and Judy ran as fast as they could. The silence was eerie. Some screams echoed through the hallways, the screams of police officers of varying species. Nick could make out wolves, bulls, antelopes, felines. The screams sounded unnerving, unnatural, artificial.

But something else trembled in his ears.

The screams of his mother. They were genuine screams. Nick ran faster than he had ever believed a fox possibly could. Even Judy struggled to keep her pace, and that's coming from an animal designed to run away from foxes.

* * *

The Predator wasted no time in retrieving his bait. He held her up and slowly clawed at her fur until he drew blood. Hearing the prey sing painfully was exciting and also a sign of an epic hunt.

The vixen howled as his claws raked through her fur. He was carving the mark of his clan on her chest, not as a sign of respect but a sign of dominance. Something he will show Nick in order to entice him to follow onto more richer hunting grounds.

The vixen's shrieks echoed down the corridor, followed by the Predator's mockeries of her screams.

* * *

"MOOOM!" Nick howled as he ran towards the shrieks. Judy raced after him, panting and out of breath, as quickly as her rabbit feet could propell her.

"NIIICK!" she wailed, and it was repeated again followed by more howls.

Nick jolted to his destination in what seemed like minutes but felt like hours, and there it was for his eyes to lay upon for the first time, the real thing, the real Predator. It looked huge, compared to a fox, it was ginormous. He had thought it'd be tiger sized but it was a bit bigger, and much, much more muscular than tigers.

And his mom was held in its predatory hand. Multiple scratches decorated her face, and a strange symbol was etched on her chest.

 **"NIIIICK!"** it howled in his mother's voice. **"HA HA HA HA, YOU'RE IN A LOTTA PAIN MOTHERFUCKER**!" it said as it threw something towards Nick. Nick looked down and saw a small locket. A distraction as the Predator leapt out of the balcony, cackling mechanically as it landed on the other side of the building.

 **"MY NICK!"** it yelled in her voice and then jumped off the other side of the building opposite of Nick. It vanished once more. Nick plumped to his knees and picked up the locket. Inside was a picture of himself as a kit in his first Ranger uniform.


	22. Chapter 21: Chad Howler

**Chapter 21: Chad Howler**

It became pretty obvious that the Predator wasn't returning for a while. So Chad and Tani took this time to prepare the area. Chad had his elusive friend deliver some mines and a nice surprise waited for the Predator when he returned.

If that failed, Chad left a little 'present' inside the bastard's spaceship. Something to take back home hopefully. He was gonna 'explode' with excitement when he finds out what it was.

Chad and Tani still lay there, again for an eternity. Tani considered they call it quits and return another day. But Chad was adamant that they remain. This was the perfect opportunity and he will not squander it.

And good things come to those who wait.

Because an hour and a half later, an explosion sounded, followed by some shooting from an alien weapon which caused more explosions.

That was a sign that the mines have failed. But Chad regretted nothing. He hoped that this has sent the Predator a message, 'hey fuckface, we're hunting you too.'

A minute later, an invisible bipedal shimmer walked towards the ship and with a beep, he materialized into the visible spectrum. Chad noticed that the monster was effortlessly carrying a female fox under his left arm.

The cat inspected his door. It knew that someone tampered with his spaceship door. Chad had been given some codes by his government friend to type into his hacking device that tapped into frequencies. Chad never asked how the guy knew the Predator's frequencies, but it worked.

The hunter walked in and after thirty seconds, Chad's bomb came out the doorway.

"Fuck," he whispered. Well he wasn't planning on detonating it yet, seeing as an innocent civillian would be caught in the blast.

Not long later, the Predator zoomed out of the spaceship which closed its doors. It flew past Chad and Tani at blurring speeds.

"I guess it decided to get on its little hunting jeep," Tani said as she approached Chad. Neither of them had time to use their rifles, nor did Chad want to use the one with radioactive bullets due to the vixen potentially getting poisoned by the possible exposure.

They had seen the Predator's bladed hover vehicle inside the ship. It was armed with multiple guns of huge proportions. Tani did poke the blades very lightly and already had a slim cut on her finger pad which had long since formed a clot.

Chad approached the spaceship and pressed the button on his device. The ship door responded with defiance by not budging.

"The bastard has changed the locks to its ride..." Tani said.

"Well that was quick. Did you see how quickly it disposed of our bomb? Maybe we should get these bastards to join the ZPD as bomb disposal."

Suddenly, Chad's phone rang and he answered it.

"Nick? Slow down, kid. Oh? Oh so THAT's your mom? Yeah, don't worry, kid. She's safe. The Predator took her to its spaceship. We'll send you the location. No, the bastard's gone off to some parts unknown. Yeah, see you soon."


	23. Chapter 22: The Predator

**Chapter 22: The Predator**

The vehicle hummed silently as the Predator leaned forward on his seat. It was proportioned similar to a racing motorcycle where the driver gracefully lay forward on it.

He soared towards the known gang hideouts. Those large tusked prey with long noses dwelled here. The Predator unleashed his arsenal. Plasma and lasers rained down on the run down apartments, toppling them to the ground in smoke and debris.

Screams and rumbling rubble echoed down the dark streets of this corner of Sahara Square. The Predator had hoped that this would distract the "po-leese" clan from interfering in his hunt for Nick and his pack.

More "po-leese" vehicles arrived, but their occupants had no time to exit before they were incinerated by unimaginable heats from alien weaponry.

Several unarmed prey began to stampede and scream in their gibberish guttural languages.

"AAAEEERGH SKY PEOPLE!"

"WE'RE BEING INVADED BY ALIENS!"

"IT'S LIKE WAR OF THE WORLDS DUDE, THAT'S SO COOOOL!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND RUN!"

The Predator purred with joy.

 **"THAT'S SO COOOOOOL!"** he repeated like an excited cub.

The Predator's mask visor beeped. The tracking device he had placed on the small object that the vixen had on her bleeped closer and closer. Nick was not far. The Predator abandoned his rampage and flew back towards the ship.

As he flew, his mask began to display that his clan war ship was coming to observe his hunt.

 **"Nick!"** it growled in its own alien voice now. The prey better have brought his formidable friends with him or the Predator was going to take his fur while he still breathed.

He was not one to take disappointment well.


	24. Chapter 23: Chad Howler

**Chapter 23: Chad Howler**

Nick and Judy stood alongside Chad and Tani. They saw the alien's ship for the first time. But there was no time for sight seeing. Nick was scratching the otherworldly alloy, his claws raking uselessly against the door.

"MOM!" he yelled at the door, but no noise came. It was no doubt sound proofed.

"Look!" Tani said as she pointed upwards.

"What?" Chad asked.

"Look carefully, the stars seem to be sorta warping or shimmering," Tani said and then he saw it. The stars wobbled and blinked as something big and cloaked moved over them, silent engines humming.

"The mothership..." Chad whsipered.

"Why is it here?" Judy asked.

"I don't know..." Tani admitted.

"Maybe it's come to pick our friend up," Chad said with a big toothy smirk. The others all looked at the old coyote like he had just officially lost his mind.

"Shh, you hear that?" Judy said as her big ears moved around. "I hear something coming at us, fast..."

* * *

They had all swiftly taken cover. Nick and Judy buried themselves in the sand while Chad and Tani had faith that their suits kept them covered from many visual spectrums that the Predator's mask may be carrying.

Tani could see a trail of sand and dust in the background getting bigger as it got closer. She aimed her sniper rifle with the radioactive bullet in the direction. She zoomed the sight and saw the Predator elegantly resting on its vehicle, its fleshy furry 'dreadlocks' blown around by the wind behind its head as it hovered at marvellous speeds towards their position.

Tani signalled to Chad and he aimed with his railgun. A well aimed shot invaded her ears. She watched through her sight as the Predator recoiled from the sheer force of the shot, strange glowing orange blood burst out from its chest as the bullet ripped through armour and flesh.

The vehicle's front blades touched onto the ground and then it tumbled and spun rapidly on the ground, creating a spectacular display of dust and sand which was flung in all directions. The Predator itself was also rolling uncontrollably across the sand.

After what seemed like almost a minute, the drama finally died down. The hunter was getting back on its feet with some effort, and that was when Tani fired and watched as her radioactive bullet entered the Predator's wound caused by Chad's earlier shot.

It roared in the distance and grabbed at its wound. Tani realized that it was looking in her general direction, its head going left and right slowly.

"I hope that hurt, you bastard," she whispered with gritted teeth. But her anger quickly turned to shock as she watched through her sights, the Predator stared directly at her with its shoulder gun already having blasted a plasma round.

The tigress raced to her feet, but the shot reached her before she could move.

And then there was nothing.


	25. Chapter 24: The Predator

**Chapter 24: The Predator**

The alien wheezed and coughed orange blood into his mask. With a click and hiss, he removed the metal mask and dropped it on the sand. Blood trickled down his muzzle as he coughed another round.

One of his hearts has been blasted apart by a powerful shot which pierced his armour from the front, but didn't exit out the back as the heavy bullet ricocheted inside his chest and burst through several vital organs inside of him.

And then, another bullet followed the heavy one into the wound and not only ricocheted, but exploded. This caused some extreme discomfort to the Predator which was followed by excitement. He was right, Nick's formidable friends are here and they did not disappoint.

He tapped his wrist and one of the ship's guns aimed at the coyote. If it weren't for the small prey's quick reflexes, he would have been liquidated down into atoms. The Predator now knew that at least the big gun was gone.

"FREEZE!"

His head jolted to the side and he could see the tiny creature with those big ears again. He had eaten one of her kind earlier in his hunt and the taste of its flesh was tender. The Predator did not care for a meal however. He needed to get back to his ship so that he can access the medical tools needed. His wounds were too great for his basic medical equipment that he carried on a hunt.

Judy fired her taser at maximum settings when she saw that the saber-toothed cat did not respond. The alien was not fazed by the electricity, and in this wounded state, it really pissed him off.

He bounded towards the small thing and grabbed her by the ears, roaring in her face as his wrist blades extended from his right gauntlet. He yearned to eviscerate her.

But arms were wrapped around his neck.

"Let her GO you big ugly brute! Where is my MOTHER!?" Nick growled as he tried to wrap his arms around the cat in a futile effort to choke it. The Predator threw Judy away from himself with great force, and then grasped Nick by neatly wrapping his clawed fingers around his head. The force of his grip made Nick feel pain in his skull as he was flung and slammed onto the sand with great strength.

Just when the Predator was about to raise his foot and stomp on Nick's skull, something within him jolted with pain once more and he coughed bright orange blood at Nick's face, showering the red fox with bioluminescent alien blood.

The Predator grunted in pain and began to limp towards his ship. Nick and Judy just barely standing up, their legs trembling as they watched the alien walk onwards, leaving behind a glowing orange trail of blood in the yellow sand of Sahara Square.

"Oh, you don't get off THAT easily, my friend," and with that said, a coyote latched onto the Predator, tugging at one of his furry alien sensory organs on his head as he was ramming a knife into his shoulder and spewing otherwordly blood.

The Predator roared and reached up for the coyote, but the prey was too fast and eluded his grasp in this injured state. He felt more stabs in his back and turned rapidly. The prey eluded him once more, cutting along his legs.

With a swift motion, the Predator made a guess and it was an accurate one for he aimed his open hand towards where the prey was going to be, and there he was, in his vice grip.

The Predator elegantly lifted the coyote by the neck and slammed his fist into the thing's jaw, sending half of his teeth flying out of his canine muzzle.

 **"Ha ha ha, you're in a lotta pain, motherfucker!"** the Predator sneered at the coyote in his deep alien feline voice. He had perfected that phrase. But uttering the speech had caused him to retch and cough blood at the coyote who was smirking a crimson toothless grin as his face became covered in glowing blood.

"You're in a lot more pain than I am in, asshole. Welcome to planet fucking Earth. Hopefully you enjoyed a taste of our culture, eh?"


	26. Chapter 25: Chad Howler

**Chapter 25: Chad Howler**

Chad never knew how much of a pain in the ass breathing could be when some monster from another world had their big fucking clawed hand crushing your windpipe.

Even when terribly wounded, the Predator was just as dangerous than ever. Chad looked at Nick and Judy, they were running towards the Predator. Chad held out his hand and indicated for them to stay back. He gave them a thumbs up and silently motioned "I'll get your mom back" to Nick with his wounded muzzle.

Nick looked hesitant and Judy held his hand. Chad counted on the small rabbit to hold that stubborn fox back.

It wasn't long before Chad was inside the Predator's spaceship. He could smell the metallic environment and feel the nearly unbearable heat of the alien ship.

With a violent thud, Chad found himself laying on the side of the Predator's pilot seat. He watched as the hunter approached his captive vixen. The poor lady had her tongue out and was frantically panting from the intense heat within the ship.

He observed as the Predator unclasped her from her chains, then grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her towards the door and outside. A few second passed before it returned without her.

Chad watched it slowly approach him, taking a moment to lean against the wall and wheeze in some air. Tani and his shot's must've fucked up the thing's lungs.

It didn't waste time languishing in its agony though. The Predator tapped a control panel on the wall and the door closed. Then it approached Chad and took a seat next to the throne like chair that the coyote leaned against.

Chad heard groans as the Predator began to tap buttons on the control panel and then a hum invaded his ears as the ship's engines came to life.


	27. Chapter 26: The Predator

**Chapter 26: The Predator**

The sabre-toothed cat looked at the coyote. He could not wait to flay him in front of his clan. To let his brethren hear the coyote's painful howls and songs. An exciting rush dulled his pain.

"I hope you're fucking happy," the prey said in its primitive stupid language.

"You know... one of you shameless fuckers killed my wife and child. You're nothing but murderers. Fucking monsters. To class you as 'animals' would be insulting every living thing back on my world. You belong in a nightmare."

 **"Killed my wife and child,"** the Predator copied the coyote's words in his growling pantherine tone.

"That's right you big fanged fuck."

* * *

The Predator dragged Chad out of his ship and held him up in front of the other members of his race. The fanged cats purred and growled excitedly.

The prey gave them a bloody toothless grin as it held up its left hand and pressed on the scarred paw pad. A strange click sounded. Another three presses and a series of beeps began to sound.

"You all have the right to remain silent," it said before a final beep rung in their feline ears.

All of the Predators lunged at Chad as they realized what was happening, but it was too late and a bright flash of heat engulfed everything followed by deafening explosions which ruptured something on the Predator's scout ship.

The resulting explosion of the scout ship caused a chain reaction within the clan's mothership which brought forth nothing but oblivion for all that dwelled within.


	28. Chapter 27: Judy Hopps

**Chapter 27: Judy Hopps**

A bright flash in the sky burned her eyes, forcing her to squeeze her eyelids shut which in the process let some tears run down her cheeks.

A thundering shockwave knocked them all to the ground and the roaring in the skies caused Judy to slam her hands protectively upon her sensitive ears to shield them from the sonic booms.

After the bright light had died down which was followed by silence. Judy shakily got back on her trembling legs and walked towards Nick and his mom. She was just as surprised as Nick was to see the Predator throw the vixen out of its ship.

Maybe there was some twisted kind of honour or hunting code in that creature. She didn't try to understand as it was an alien mind. It'd be beyond her scope. She could always speculate at another time. What mattered now was Nick and his mom.

The rabbit joined their embrace and the three held onto each other tightly. Footsteps in the sand caught their attention and a one armed tigress limped towards them with a strange alien metal mask on her face.

"Rawr," she said.

"You know, that mask kinda suits you," Nick said with a smile to the tigress, the Predator's glowing orange blood slowly drying on the fox's face.

"Hey, thanks! May I join you nice people in your hugs?" Tani asked. She barely felt the stump which remained of her severed right arm. The wound was cauterized and all the nerves obliterated by the Predator's plasma shot.

The tigress was unconscious from the shock, but she was even more shocked when she woke up to the sound of explosions and bright lights. Like waking from a nightmare into another nightmare.

With her left arm, she removed her mask and embraced Nick, his mom and Judy.

"I wish Chad was here," she whispered to them and Judy could see that Tani was fighting a war within herself to prevent from breaking down right then and there. Tani knew Chad well enough to pretty much guess exactly what caused the carnage in the skies.

The group sat there in silence for a few minutes. Mourning those that were lost.

"Nick..." Tani said to the fox, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"The Predators liked to take trophies of their victims. I am nothing like them..." she said and held out the metal mask to Nick. "That thing caused you and your mom so much grief. I don't want this, you can keep it."

Nick looked at the mask which was dropped next to him as the tigress stood up to walk towards the lights approaching them. Nick grabbed the mask and moved himself and his mother away from attention. Judy Hopps followed them.

Judy's rabbit ears were able to pick up some snippets of conversations that Tani was having with the female goat in charge. The goat sounded kind of pissed that she didn't catch the Predator.

"Relax bitch, you'll probably get another chance," Judy whispered under her breath.


	29. Epilogue: Nick Wilde

**Epilogue: Nick Wilde**

Nick sat with his mom in the garden of her home. Beautiful flowers dotted the place. It was his mother's handiwork as she loved gardening. When Nick was a kit, he used to help out. He promised himself that he will once more help his mom tend to these flowers. He will make up for lost times. He will cherish his mom after realizing just how easily a loved treasure can be lost.

Three months have passed since the Predator's reign of terror shook the city. Many great police officers and SWAT members were mourned. Nick and Judy were at the memorials, including one held for Detective Chad Howler. Tani wasn't with them and Nick sort of understood why. The tigress had already gone through hell with the loss of her best friend as well as her right arm.

But this morning, he got a letter from her. An actual letter. Not an email. A freaking letter. At first, Nick thought it was from his mom but then he saw a different hand writing and after his 'who the hell still sends letters apart from my mom these days?' reaction, he opened it and smiled.

Tani Redfur, now known as Agent Red had joined the special government funded forces to combat possible threats from other worlds. She congratulated Nick for his bravery and determination, also extending this to his mother and Judy. She also offered to give in some good words to her superiors should Nick and Judy ever decide to officially join in the fight against the Predators in any future close encounters.

Nick decided that he would stay with Judy here in Zootropolis. This was their territory, their home and this was where they had sworn to protect and serve. And they had showed that determination by facing the Predator with an unwavering will to succeed even when things felt hopeless at times.

Nick's mom was so proud at how determined her Nick was to rescue her. Judy had said that not once did Nick ever utter 'I give up' when the Predator had her in its vile clawed clutches.

The media of course reported bright flashes across Sahara Square as a 'meteor exploding into bits as it came too close towards Earth.'

Bastards.

Nick held the truth in his hands. The Predator's metal mask. With a sense of curiosity, he placed it on his face and it clumsily sat there. It was clearly designed for a big saber-toothed cat's face, not a small fox's.

He looked through the eyes of the mask, the very same ones that the Predator's feline eyes once stalked prey through. The world was blue and as he placed the small ear pieces on the mask's sides into his ears, he heard a strange rhythm of noises that were out of range for his vulpid ears to pick up. The noise hummed and groaned almost in a muscial fashion.

He turned to look at his mom. She stuck out as bright red. Her smile could barely be seen through the infrared spectrum, but with focus, Nick noticed it and smiled back from underneath.

The two foxes laughed together. Happy to be in each other's company. Appreciating life just a little bit more.

The warm sunny sky fuelled their happy moods even further. But above that loving gentle warmth was a cold and dark void with no consideration for the lives that have just been lost on this small blue planet.

The stars were endless and seperated by mind engulfing distances. And somewhere out there, thousands upon thousands of light years away was a world three times the size and mass of Earth, a Super-Earth ringed by asteroids and orbiting three massive triplet suns.

The planet was a hot and arid death world with acidic waters and clouds, scorching volcanic radioactive deserts and lush steamy jungles. It was home to an ancient labyrinthine city which housed a monumental arena.

And at the centre of this arena, two Predators sparred with their weapons, a ritualistic battle to prove their mettle.

And they too went unnoticed by the uncaring void that encircled their world.

What else lay out there hidden by the countless stars in the night sky?


	30. Acknowledgements and author's notes

**I'd like to thank the creators of Zootopia and the Predator franchises for making this fanfiction a possibility.**

 **I took inspirations from the Predator movies and Zootopia when I saw it recently. I also got inspired by Predator: South China Sea, it hugely influenced this story alongside the second Predator movie.**

 **My writing format here was influenced by South China Sea's style. In that it had short action packed chapters to keep the pages turning as well as some great action. I won't pretend that my fanfiction was just as good as South China Sea because it's not. I gave it my best and had a blast writing it.**

 **The Predator was a saber-toothed cat because it fit the anthro animals theme that Zootopia is about. Also, I just freaking love Smilodons.**

 **For any Predator fans out there, if you're wondering why my one's blood was bright orange rather than bright green, hardcore fans will get it, but for those that don't, it's because that was intended to be the original colour for the alien in the first film. Before they had to change it to green as the special effects department had difficulties with orange.**

 **I may do more stories in the future.**

 **Most of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story.**


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